Secrets of a Chozer: An Interview with Rabbi Simon Jacobson
(0:38) – General Introduction
(3:08) – Rabbi Jacobson’s introduction about תורת חב"ד
(7:36) – Introduction about himself
(18:41) – How he got started in חזרה
(21:31) – Getting more involved in תשל"ח as Reb Yoiel’s sidekick
(25:34) – Becoming an official מניח in winter תשל"ח
(26:27) – First הנחה
(28:12) – The nightmare of מקץ תש"מ
(35:23) – How הגהה worked
(37:01) – How to tell if a random page is מוגה
(40:31) – Sichos that were difficult to remember/understand
(43:06) – The difficulty of the pre-הקפות farbrengen
(45:08) – Why they didn’t divide the task of remembering
(45:49) – His role in מאמרים
(46:56) – Keys to memory
(51:43) – Making a mental map; numbering ideas
(54:03) – Demonstrating samples
(58:23) – A sharp מענה to a complicated question
(1:01:43) – How he took the sharp מענות
(1:03:33) – Edits to באתי לגני תש"מ, and the mysterious cutting of the page
(1:08:18) – The Rebbe’s כתי"ק about radio
(1:14:06) – Did you ever get a galley back from the Rebbe without any corrections?
(1:15:03) – Cases when the Rebbe wrote מבהיל
(1:23:48) – Working relationship with Reb Yoel
(1:26:23) – Defying others to ask the Rebbe a personal question—and it paid off
– Yiddish, Hebrew, and other languages
– Adapting the spoken word to the written word
– Transitioning to a computer in the mid-1980s
– The Rebbe choosing fonts
– Identifying sources
– Sources that have not been found
– The struggle and adrenaline rush to keep up with the Rebbe
– The science and history of השמטות
– When the Rebbe said that certain things should not be printed
– Overview of ש"פ פנחס תשמ"ה
– Overview of ליל שמח"ת תשמ"ז
– The value of the בלתי מוגה even when there’s מוגה
– About באתי לגני תשכ"ג
Secrets of a Chozer: An Interview with Rabbi Simon Jacobson
In honor of shnas hakhel, Unzer-Chadash Shul hosted Rabbi Simon Jacobson and had the opportunity to ask him about his work of remembering, transcribing, and publishing the Rebbe’s sichos. Posted in honor of Yud Shvat.
